


Promises

by pjminyard



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ash doesn't go back to the library, Ash gets help, Blood and Injury, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 16:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17084042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pjminyard/pseuds/pjminyard
Summary: What if Ash didn’t stop? What if he didn’t go back to the library? What if he kept moving?An alternate take on what could've happened instead.





	Promises

**Author's Note:**

> Implied spoilers for the ending of Banana Fish (Episode 24/Volume 19).

Ash wasn’t ready for things to end. It wasn’t his time, and it certainly wasn’t the place.  
  
He couldn’t stop. He had to keep moving. The pain in his gut was unbearable, but it was nothing compared to the aching thump of his heart, a mantra of _Eiji, Eiji, Eiji_ in time with each and every beat.  
  
Ash stumbled through the street, his quick pace from just moments ago now slowed by the dripping wound in his side. It wasn’t the worst injury he’d ever had, but it certainly wasn’t something to brush aside. He needed medical attention, but the adrenaline rushing through him pushed it from his mind just enough to keep his feet moving. The airport wasn’t all that far away, but his unsteady movements didn’t make things any easier.  
  
He thought about calling someone—Sing, maybe, or Alex. They could move a lot faster than he could at that point, but the thought of speaking to anyone but Eiji was just too much. Ash didn’t even know if he’d be able to get any words out without coughing up blood into his phone. Calling for an ambulance was the most logical approach, but doctors would mean too many questions, too much time wasted, and zero chance of making it to Eiji.  
  
Ash kept going. Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the last turn he needed to walk the final stretch to JFK International. He could see the planes taking off from here, low in the sky as they drifted up, up, up, higher and higher until they disappeared into the clouds above. Somewhere ahead, a plane was waiting for him.  
  
Somewhere ahead, Eiji was waiting for him.

Ash staggered his way through the streets in front of the airport, doing his best to dart through the traffic of cars and pedestrians blocking his way. Finally, his breath shuddering with exhaustion, he stumbled inside the front doors of Terminal 1, ticket envelope clenched tightly between bloodied fingers. He knew TSA would throw a fit at his appearance, so he quickly found the closest restroom and locked himself away in a stall. There was nothing to be done about his clothes, but the black of his turtleneck hid most of the blood from sight. Hunched in the stall, he sopped up as much as he could with toilet paper and paper towels, wincing at the deepness of the wound as he pressed gentle hands to its gaping ends. Flushing away the evidence, Ash left the stall, chose the farthest sink from the others, and quickly rinsed the red from his hands.  
  
Making his way out of the restroom, Ash quickly glanced at the list of departures. Flight AL 277, New York to Tokyo, was still set to take off at 6:10 from Gate 6. He could make it. He just needed to get through TSA. He was so close.

Ash had almost reached the line for TSA when a voice startled him from his racing thoughts. He turned to see Sing racing toward him, calling Ash’s name, a grin on his face.  
  
“Ash! You actually came!” Sing shouted, breathless with surprise. His smile fell momentarily as he continued, “But, Eiji and Ibe, they were headed to their gate a few minutes ago. I don’t think they can come back here, but we can check if we can still see them from the balcony! Their phones should still be on. We could call them and—“  
  
Ash cut Sing off, holding up his ticket. Before Sing could respond, Ash said, “I can’t go.”  
  
“What?” Sing asked incredulously. “What do you mean ‘you can’t go’? If you’re worried about your boys, I can let them know where…” He trailed off as Ash raised his shirt to reveal the still bleeding wound in his side, eyes widening at the sight. “Holy shit, Ash… W-What—“  
  
“Later.” Ash cut in. Now wasn’t the time to tell Sing about Lao. Even if the two had fallen out and drifted apart, this wasn’t the place for an explanation, nor was Ash ready to rehash trauma while the wound was still—literally—fresh. Ash knew he was in no shape to get on a plane, knew that if he tried to fly to Japan right now, he’d never make it through the flight. But Eiji…he had to see Eiji. “Take me to the balcony.”

“But Ash,” Sing started, “you need help, stitches a-and an IV, right now! Oh fuck, how much blood have you lost?” Sing started to pull out his phone, no doubt ready to dial Alex or Cain, or maybe even 911.  
  
Ash held up a hand. “Please, Sing, I’ll go with you but… I have to see Eiji. I have to let him know I’m here, that I’ll see him soon.” He was almost pleading at this point, voice betraying the calm look he tried to keep on his face. Eiji and Ibe would be boarding any moment now and time was running out.  
  
Sing gaped at the cracking in Ash’s voice, the blatant desperation in his green eyes begging for this one thing. Sing slung an arm around Ash for support and said, “C’mon. It’s just around the corner, we can make it.” The two staggered past the crowds of frantic flyers, no one paying any attention to Ash’s slumping form. His heart was thumping hard, but be it from the pain or the thought of missing Eiji, he couldn’t tell. Finally, the two reached the balcony overhanging the different gates. Ash’s eyes scanned as quickly as possible over the line forming in front of Gate 6, searching for that unmistakable mop of black hair he’d grown to know so well.  
  
Suddenly, his eyes found what he’d been looking for—tousled black hair covering the face he so desperately needed to see. Ash choked back his voice, stuck on what he could even manage to say from such a far, unreachable place.

“Eiji,” he tried, but his voice failed to reach above a whisper. “Ei-Eiji,” he tried again, louder still, but not enough to travel across the distance between them. The line kept moving, Eiji moving further and further, the gap growing larger and larger and soon he’d be through the tunnel and he’d be gone from Ash’s sight and—

“Eiji!” Ash yelled, as loud as his heaving lungs could manage. He watched as Eiji’s head whipped around, searching, his eyes wide with alarm. There was a sort of agony in his movements, as if he had finally resigned to disappointment and couldn’t allow himself to expect anything more.  
  
Finally, brown eyes met green. Alarm turned to surprise, to pure, unadulterated joy, to hot and heavy tears. Ash felt them streaming down his face, a mirror image of Eiji down below. He was smiling—they were both smiling—as Ibe quickly maneuvered Eiji out of the line and close to the balcony, as close as they could be in that moment.  
  
“Ash!” Eiji cried back, his eyes blinking fast as the tears fell into his lap, hands waving up at Ash.  
  
Ash swallowed hard around the lump in his throat and yelled back, “I’ll see you soon. I can’t come right now, but I’ll be there as soon as I can! I promise!” It hurt to know they’d have to be apart, even for just a few days, but saying that aloud eased the pain just a bit.

Eiji’s smile never faltered as he nodded in response. “I’ll be waiting! See you soon, Ash!” With one last wave, Eiji nodded to Ibe and the two turned back to their line. Ash watched as they moved further and further, finally reaching the front. Eiji sent one last look over his shoulder as they moved into the tunnel, his smile a beacon of light for Ash and Ash alone.  
  
As they disappeared from sight, Ash let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. It fell out of him, heavy and shuddering, painful but in all the best ways. Sing slung his arm back around Ash’s shoulders and led them back towards the front of the airport, phone already in hand to contact help. Ash was getting the help he needed, the help he deserved.  
  
There was no “Sayonara,” no final goodbye. There were only promises of hope and a future, the start of a new beginning and a new life filled with gentle reminders of calm and safety, blessed moments of love and Eiji.

**Author's Note:**

> I, like many, was sorely disappointed at the ending of Banana Fish. The more I sat and stewed over it after watching episode 24 a few hours ago, the more upset and frustrated I got, so I figured why not write my own happy ending! I know a lot of people have done their own takes on alternate endings, but this is one I had in my head today after watching how MAPPA portrayed the ending. I cried writing this but it really helped me work through my feelings about everything. :')
> 
> Feel free to come cry with me @pjminyard_ on Twitter!


End file.
